He was raised in Abington, Pennsylvania, on Wheatsheaf Lane.[5] At age 11, working at his first job at a Philadelphia car wash, he was fired for "wise-mouthing the owner".[8][9]

Education

Carter was educated at Highland Elementary School (class of 1966) and at Abington Senior High School (class of 1972) in Abington. In high school he was a wrestler, lacrosse player, cross-country runner, and president of the Honor Society.[5][10] He was inducted into Abington Senior High School's Hall of Fame in 1989.[11]

Academic career

Carter taught at Harvard University, as an assistant professor from 1984 to 1986, associate professor from 1986 to 1988, professor and associate director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1988 to 1990, and director of the Center from 1990 to 1993.[17] At the Kennedy School, he became chair of the International and Global Affairs faculty and Ford Foundation Professor of Science and International Affairs. He concurrently was co-director of the Preventive Defense Project of Harvard and Stanford Universities.[17]

From April 2009 to October 2011, Carter was Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, with responsibility for DOD's procurement reform and innovation agenda and completion of procurements such as the KC-46 tanker.[21] He also led the development and production of thousands of mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, and other acquisitions.[21] He instituted "Better Buying Power", seeking smarter and leaner purchasing.[21] From October 2011 to December 2013, Carter was Deputy Secretary of Defense, serving as the DOD’s chief operating officer, overseeing the department's annual budget and its three million civilian and military personnel, steering strategy and budget through sequester, and directing the reform of DOD's national security export controls.[20][21][26] He was confirmed by Senate voice vote for both positions.[27]

In an April 4, 2013, speech, he affirmed that the 'Shift to Asia' initiative of President Obama was a priority that would not be affected by the budget sequestration in 2013. Carter noted that The Shift to Asia is principally an economic matter with new security implications. India, Australia, and New Zealand were mentioned as forthcoming security partners.[28] His Pentagon arms-control responsibilities included matters involving the START II, ABM, CFE, and other arms-control treaties.

In his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, he said he was “very much inclined” to increase U.S. military aid to Ukraine.[32][33] Speaking on the Middle East, he said the U.S. must militarily ensure a “lasting defeat” of Islamic State (ISIL) forces in Iraq and Syria.[32][33] He said he is not in favor of increasing the rate of prisoner releases from Guantanamo Bay.[34] He also opined that the threats posed by Iran were as serious as those posed by the ISIL forces.[32][33]

He was approved unanimously on February 1, 2015, by the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was confirmed by the Senate on February 12 by a vote of 93–5[31][35] and sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on February 17.[36]

In October 2015, Carter condemned Russian air strikes against ISIL and other rebel groups in Syria. On October 8, 2015, Carter, speaking at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, said he believed Russia would soon start paying the price for its military intervention in Syria in the form of reprisal attacks and casualties.[38]

A controversy arose in December 2015 when it was revealed that Carter had used a personal email account when conducting official business as Secretary of Defense.[39]

In January 2016, at Carter's direction, the Department of Defense opened all military roles to women, overriding a request by the Marine Corps to continue to exempt women from certain positions.[40] In June 2016, Carter announced that transgender individuals would be allowed to join and openly serve in the military.[41]

Carter resigned one day before the end of the Obama administration.[42]

Other roles

Carter at the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea

Carter, William Perry and former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, October 12, 2012

In 1997, Carter and former CIA Director John M. Deutch co-chaired the Catastrophic Terrorism Study Group which urged greater attention to terrorism. In 1998 Carter, Deutch and Philip Zelikow (later executive director of the 9/11 Commission) published an article on “catastrophic terrorism” in Foreign Affairs.[43] From 1998 to 2000, he was deputy to William J. Perry in the North Korea Policy Review and traveled with him to Pyongyang.[22] In 2001–02, he served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism, and advised on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

Carter was also co-director of the Preventive Defense Project,[44] which designs and promotes security policies aimed at preventing the emergence of major new threats to the US.

Carter had been a longtime member of the Defense Science Board and the Defense Policy Board, the principal advisory bodies to the Secretary of Defense. During the Bush administration, he was also a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's International Security Advisory Board; co-chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Policy Advisory Group; a consultant to the Defense Science Board; a member of the National Missile Defense White Team, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control. He has testified frequently before the armed services, foreign relations, and homeland security committees of both houses of Congress.

In addition to his public service, Carter was a Senior Partner at Global Technology Partners, focused on advising investment firms in technology and defense. He has been a consultant to Goldman Sachs and Mitretek Systems on international affairs and technology matters, and speaks frequently to business and policy audiences.

U.S. Representative Ted Lieu has criticized Obama's administration for its continued support for Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen. On 2 March 2016, he sent a letter to Carter. Lieu, who served in the U.S. Air Force, wrote in the letter that the "apparent indiscriminate airstrikes on civilian targets in Yemen seem to suggest that either the coalition is grossly negligent in its targeting or is intentionally targeting innocent civilians."[50]

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